News, info, and opinion by Mac users, for Mac users.

March 31, 2007

tips

Readers strike back: more on iTunes sharing

Posted Mar. 31, ’07, 8:03 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Tips

iTunes Connection MonitorTurns out you guys are on top of finding out who exactly is jamming away to your iTunes Shared Libraries. We got a number of comments that improved upon the original terminal command that we shared, so we naturally thought we should pass these unprecedented savings back along to you.

Frequent Macworld contributor (and the man whose abode is most likely to induce pangs of jealousy) Kirk McElhearn showed us a way to get the same information without the hassle of having to open up terminal and type in a cryptic command. Launch Activity Monitor and select the listing for iTunes; click the Inspect button; choose the “Open Files and Ports” tab. If you scroll to the bottom of that list, it’ll give you the same output as the terminal command.

That’s certainly easier for those who prefer not to mess with the terminal. But commenters AC and Axel mentioned an even easier way: a Dashboard widget called iTunes Connection Monitor (pictured above). This handy little program has two sides: the front displays the IP addresses connected to your library, the back tells you which songs are currently being played. I’m not sure if you can tell at a glance who’s listening to what, though I presume that the first IP address listed is usually streaming the first song listed, et cetera.

Finally, an anonymous reader sent a link to an AppleScript called “Shared Music Monitor” by Neil Evans. The script updates play counts and last played dates on files that have been streamed over iTunes sharing feature and places all songs that have been shared into a special playlist so you can tell at a glance what people have been listening to.

It’s worth taking this opportunity to mention once again just how much we love our readers. You guys complete us.


1 Comments

Island in the Net said:

All this stuff about finding out who is streaming one's iTunes library is cool but....my security mind is wondering....why the f**k would anyone allow some anonymous person to connect to their computer and then expend effort to find out who is connected? Just turn of the damn sharing.

March 31, 2007 12:28 PM

Leave a comment

 



Visit other IDG sites: